The Redmond, Wash.-based company on Thursday is expected to report results in line with expectations or a penny short when it discloses earnings for its fiscal third quarter. A consensus of analysts polled by First Call predicts earnings of 42 cents a share.
But the outlook for the remainder of the company's 2001 fiscal year, ending June 30, is much less certain. Intel, which reported Tuesday an 82 percent decline in income, told Wall Street the worst of the PC sales crisis had ended. This could bode well for Microsoft.
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